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First pig liver and kidneys transplanted into a person — could ease organ shortages
Nature ^ | May 29, 2026 | Rachel Fieldhouse

Posted on 05/29/2026 6:14:24 PM PDT by Red Badger

Organs from genetically modified pigs are being used in trials in China and the US.

A 53-year-old clinically dead man has become the first person to receive two kidneys and a whole liver from a genetically modified pig. The man’s organ function was sustained for almost five days with consent from his family, and there were no signs that the organs were being rejected in the first 24 hours, according to a study published in Med today1.

Most procedures in which a pig organ is transplanted into a person — known as xenotransplantation — involve only a single organ. A small number of people have received pig organs, including hearts, kidneys, partial livers and lungs, and clinical trials in living people are under way in the United States and China. Until now, only parts of a pig liver have been transplanted into a person, says Xuyong Sun, a clinician scientist who led the latest procedure at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in Nanning, China.

Transplanting pig kidneys and a liver in the same procedure is also unique, says Leonardo Riella, a physician scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who in 2024 led the team that first transplanted a pig kidney into a living person. Transferring multiple organs is more complex than moving one; procedures take longer, increasing the risk of complications, and people who need multiple transplants are often more seriously ill, he adds.

The study shows that multi-organ xenotransplants are possible, says Wayne Hawthorne, a surgeon and transplant researcher at the University of Sydney in Australia.

Multi-organ transplants are already performed with human organs, but there is a shortage of donor organs, which is why research teams are investigating the use of pig kidneys.

(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...


TOPICS: Agriculture; Business/Economy; Health/Medicine; Pets/Animals; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: kidney; liver; organtransplant; pigs
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To: Red Badger

If it can save lives, I’m for it...I have the organ donor box on my license checked but, at my age and from some of what I’ve lived through, I doubt there’s much that would be salvageable these days.


61 posted on 05/30/2026 5:38:16 AM PDT by trebb (So many fools - so little time...)
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To: trebb

My family has been instructed that they can decide on donating as I’m near my demise. Doctors don’t get to make that call.

I used to have that box checked on my license. That permission has been revoked and it is no longer checked.


62 posted on 05/30/2026 5:41:54 AM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: trebb

Also you should read further before you post. We did donate organs on both of my parents that were harvested immediately upon their death.

I just happen to think that people check that box on the drivers license without really knowing they will be given very, very little chance to recover from a serious injury as soon as that permission is discovered. I’ve seen it happen time and again. Very cruel to the family who lost their loved one.

In my opinion, the families can still make the call, just like my family got to do.


63 posted on 05/30/2026 5:47:39 AM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: trebb

My liver probably looks like Sponge Bob............


64 posted on 05/30/2026 5:52:18 AM PDT by Red Badger (Iryna Zarutska, May 22, 2002 Kyiv, Ukraine – August 22, 2025 Charlotte, North Carolina Say her name)
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To: All

Shortage? Elites have no shortage of organs. “Don’t worry peasants, we will give you organs from animals and can’t wait to see the results from our experiments on you. You’re desperate and you will fall for anything.”


65 posted on 05/30/2026 6:32:43 AM PDT by ssfromla
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To: Red Badger

One kidney and part of the liver can save lives use illegals.

No organ shortages


66 posted on 05/30/2026 6:49:08 AM PDT by Vaduz (NEVER TRUST A DEMOCRAT)
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To: FamiliarFace

Yeah - some states have laws that the checkbox on a driver’s license overrides medical power of attorneys or living wills if one is actually not going to “live” without constant life-support measures....in which case they are probably brain dead - I’d hate for my wife and family to have me being a vegetable for an extended time.

But I don’t believe that, in general medical institutions, your concerns are really a problem.


67 posted on 05/31/2026 4:39:30 AM PDT by trebb (So many fools - so little time...)
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To: trebb

All I can say is that the young lady (my nurse at my dr appt) whose brother had that box checked on his license, well, let’s just say that the doctors very eagerly carved him up, and she had no time to say goodbye to her older brother in a devastating situation. If it could happen to her that way here, then I think there’s a problem.

I would imagine you’d like to be on life support long enough for your wife and family to be able to say goodbye, no?

She didn’t get that chance, and neither did her parents. They were totally blindsided. Very cruel.


68 posted on 05/31/2026 5:44:20 AM PDT by FamiliarFace (I got my own way of livin' But everything gets done With a southern accent Where I come from. TPetty)
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To: FamiliarFace

I guess we have different thoughts on “goodbyes”.
How many die in their sleep and their loved ones either wake up beside the body or discover it after the fact.

To me, the best “goodbye” is to treat them well while they are here so there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about the love.

I doubt the doctors “eagerly carved him up” - organs have a short shelf life.


69 posted on 06/01/2026 4:21:59 AM PDT by trebb (So many fools - so little time...)
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